Back in 2016 I named my company “Dare to Thrive.” I’m still not sure exactly where it came from but it so perfectly summed up my passion for helping people live their best life, that even though it became “THE” word (which can make things confusing) – I love it. Why am I so passionate about it, what do I mean by “Dare to Thrive” and what do I hope to help people do? I’m so glad you asked. (wink)
The word dare is defined as “to be sufficiently courageous.” Thriving is defined as “growing or developing well,” flourishing.
Put the two together and you get – someone who has the courage to grow and develop well (in all areas of life).
Doesn’t sound like your average everyday person, does it? But I think it sounds pretty amazing. Better yet, I fully believe all of us can dare to thrive and that the world is a better place when we do!
Encourage. Equip. Empower.
I’ve always been a bit type A, that classic “achiever,” the goal setter. I love checking off a goal! So you might think continuing to “grow and develop myself” comes naturally to us self proclaimed goal-setters. Unfortunately, being so driven to achieve goals is one reason that achievers are often pretty bad at actually “thriving.” We get so caught up in our goals, society’s expectations, our own (and others’) definitions of success that we ignore a lot of other areas of life. We might chase the career, seek financial success, have the “perfect” Facebook page or Instagram account while severely neglecting our families or health or friendships… I learned, the hard way, that success in one area does not mean you are thriving and it often leaves you feeling empty, lacking, and unhealthy in a lot of other areas. Those of you that are a little more laisssez faire about life…well sometimes there might be the tendency for you to just let life float by a bit. So no matter our personality type, thriving usually only happens when we are intentional.
I want to ENCOURAGE and inspire people to intentionally dare to thrive; to EQUIP people in learning what thriving is for them and how to thrive; and EMPOWER people to create a mindset, habits, and actions that move them away from survival mode to thriving,
So what do you need to know about thriving? Five things I’ve learned (so far!).
- Thriving is a lifelong journey. It is not a destination to be reached. We are constantly changing and going through new seasons. The world is constantly changing. Each person in our life is constantly changing. Each of these require us to continue to evolve and gives us the chance to keep learning and deciding how we will react.
- Thriving is not about perfection. This is personally my favorite!. I strove for much of my life to be *perfect* (whatever that is). It was like a weight lifted off my shoulders to realize that I didn’t have to be perfect to thrive.
- Thriving is not always doing – or having – more. Sometimes it is doing or having less. And that’s because…
- Thriving is different for each of us. It isn’t determined by our marital status, financial status, gender, race or any other demographic. It is determined by us choosing our mindset, priorities, and passions, understanding what we really want in life, and what is truly important. And it will keep changing as we go through different seasons.
- It’s never too late to choose to dare to thrive. Right up until we die, we each have the choice to make the most of each moment.
So how do I help people dare to thrive?
- Pause and take stock. I ask “in the main areas of your life – faith, health, family, career, finances, friends, fun, purpose, serving the world, etc. – how are you doing now? What would it look like, feel like to actually thrive and enjoy each of those areas?”
- Decide what you want to STOP. Often we are unable to thrive because we’re doing too much or the wrong things. I know I mindlessly scroll on Facebook when I am unfocused, bored or fearful or my next step. Ugh! We talk about what might be beneficial for you to say no to.
- Pick one area to start. We then discuss the question “what is one area, that if I really learned to thrive in that part of life, would MOST impact the others?” Then start to figure out what thriving looks like for you in that particular area and how to begin doing that.
- Realize it’s a bit like plate spinning. Thriving is one of those things where if you spend a lot of time improving that one area of life, another is likely to slip. Another you may forget about completely for a bit. That’s why it’s helpful to eliminate anything that isn’t really serving you so you have less plates! Finding the rhythm that feels right for you is part of the process. As each area begins to move toward thriving, you have more momentum, and it becomes easier to keep each spinning.
I’ll be back to share parts of my own story that I hope will inspire you. And trust me, if a hot mess like me can make a dent in my thriving quotient, I fully believe you can too. But for now, I’ll end by sharing my overriding belief which is – we were all created on purpose for a purpose. The world needs us to share our purpose and gifts and the best way we can do that is to thrive as we were all meant to thrive. If you’re not thriving, I’d love to help.
